The present study review the determinants of customer expectations of service quality and service delivery discussed in the service marketing literature, incorporate the determinants in a model, and test the model in the context of the turbulent airline industry. This study is a step forward in the continued evolution of the understanding of multiple standards of customer service expectations. By developing a factor model, the present study examine the existence of hypothesized functional and technical dimensions of should and will expectations, and determine the causal relationships between the two types of expectations and the two hypothesized dimensions. A survey of experienced travelers (N = 101) was conducted measuring consumers' post-encounter expectations regarding some well-known carriers services. As expected, should expectations were higher than will expectations with the former exhibiting less variability than the latter. Our second-order factor model also revealed two types of expectations, should and will, and two dimensions, functional and technical, for each type. Given its multidimensional nature, the model of customer service expectations has far-reaching implications in carrying out and interpreting service quality, delivery time and satisfaction research. Based on the findings, the present study recommend that service managers should formulate useful marketing strategies by manipulating should and will expectations simultaneously, and by focusing more on the functional as opposed to the technical dimensions, at least in the airline industry.
Keywords: Services; Expectations; Determinants; Factor Model; Functional; Technical; Airline industry
